From the most important civil rights, prison reform, and racial justice cases defending freedom of speech, religion and dissent, to the use of law in fighting government abuse of power through illegal immigrant sweeps, extraordinary rendition, indefinite detention, to the use of the Alien Tort Statute, to the use of Universal Jurisdiction as a way of holding U.S. officials accountable in foreign courts, Michael Ratner, CCR and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, ECCHR, advanced the struggle for justice and the protection of the rights guaranteed by the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Michael was Board President of ECCHR.

Michael often told the transformative story of being a law student at Columbia University and walking into a protest by accident, being thrown to the ground and rising bloodied and ready to take on the world. It may have been a serendipitous moment or fate, but either way it is our great privilege to have benefitted from his leadership and generous spirit.